Importance of Planned Maintenance
Regular, planned maintenance is essential to maintain the safety of a road and prolong its life. If a road is not regularly maintained it may need to be reconstructed earlier than necessary which will be expensive and will cause serious delays and traffic congestion for road users.
- Under-funding of road maintenance creates a threat to road users' safety, according to three quarters of Britain's local authorities.
- Inadequate skid resistance on neglected roads can contribute to traffic accidents.
- Potholes pose a threat to all road users, but particularly to cyclists and motorcyclists
who are vulnerable to accidents caused by road surface defects.
Well-planned maintenance schemes can cut down on overall congestion, remove the need for costly reactive maintenance and lengthen the life of the road.
SPEED OF MAINTENANCE
A major advantage of asphalt roads is the speed at which they can be maintained.
The asphalt industry has developed techniques for restoring the performance of a worn-out road surface which allow the road to be reopened to traffic quickly, cutting down on lengthy roadworks and the associated congestion.
The materials required for maintaining asphalt are easily obtained and can be laid accurately and swiftly with readily available plant.
As soon as the construction of an asphalt road, or at any stage of it above the sub-base, is completed it can be opened to traffic.